Lonely Hearts
by Melissa Black13
Summary: Spitfire crossover fic. Basically a vampire AU. In 1921, Wally West meets the beautiful but mysterious Artemis Crock, and his life is never the same again. Please review! XD
1. Part One

**a/n:** So, this is my Young Justice/The Vampire Diaries crossover fic that was inspired by my prompt fic Undying Hearts, which is on my tumblr (findyourownlittlespitfire). If you tack this at the end of my url: /post/28569841737/tvd-yj-crossover-prompt-undying-hearts you can read it before this one but it's not necessary. This has sort of turned into a monster, but it's been really fun to write and I hope you all enjoy it! Let me know what you think! :)

**rated:** T  
**pairings:** wally west/artemis crock  
**words:** 3,000+  
**summary:**In 1921, Wally West meets the beautiful but mysterious Artemis Crock, and his life is never the same again.

**Part One**

The year was 1921, and the place was the Big Apple, New York City. It was a time of glitz and glamour, but also of spirits and secrets; and most important of all, spirits in secret. As one of the bartenders at the popular speakeasy Club 21, Wally West had a front row seat to the rich and the famous, the drunk and the dangerous, and everyone in between. He'd come to the city from a small town out West, to seek his fortune in whatever way he could, but he'd soon found that the American dream wasn't all that attainable as they said it was in the papers. His landlord was a good guy and had connected him with a friend of his that worked at Club 21, and it wasn't long before Wally found himself tending bar at the speakeasy.

He was the perfect bartender; a friendly fellow, just shy of being 23, he knew how to get people to open up, get a little tanked, and have some fun. He flirted with the women, shot the shit with the men, and didn't stick his nose in any business that wasn't his. Until the day that she walked in, that is.

She wasn't the prettiest dame to ever grace the place, nor the sharpest dressed, and yet every male eye in the room seemed to gravitate towards her. She smirked, as if she knew what was on all of their minds, but talked to no one as she headed straight for the bar.

Wally gulped, hands occupied with wiping down a dirty glass, as she sidled right over to him, gracefully seating herself on one of the bar stools. Her piercing grey eyes were scanning the room, possibly looking for someone. Up close, Wally could see that she was a stunner. Perfectly coiffed blond hair, although she wore is much longer than the current shorter styles he usually saw. Painted red lips pursed as she turned sharply to look at him, raising a challenging eyebrow.

He cleared throat. "What can I get for you, doll?"

"Sidecar," she told him, taking out her compact and checking her makeup.

"Ah, now, you didn't say the magic words, babe," he chided her. He would normally never cheek his customers like that, but there was something about the dame that captured his attention. And he didn't like being ignored.

She was not amused by him, however. "Sidecar, now, before I slap that sappy grin off your face."

Wally raised his eyebrows in surprise, but set about making the girl's drink. He rested it in front of her, but couldn't bring himself to move away. It was something in her eyes. He'd seen a lot of lonely people walk in and out of Club 21 over the years, most just looking to take the edge off with a little (or a lot) of bootleg, but in this dame's eyes there was a whole different measure of sadness. She seemed weary beyond her years as she picked up her drink and took a sip.

"What's eating you, doll?" he asked, idly running a rag over the bar. The joint was pretty slow that night and Johnny, the other bartender, was more than capable of picking up any of his slack.

"Can you stop with the pet names?" the blonde asked, rolling her eyes.

"As soon as I get that name of yours, sweet cheeks," he told her, throwing her a wink. He was gratified to see her lips twitch into what he would count as a smile. She surveyed him over her drink, sizing him up.

"Artemis," she finally said.

"Howdy do, Artemis, Wallace West at your service," he introduced himself. "Friends call me Wally."

He proffered a hand to her to shake and she stared at it for a long moment before taking it demurely. The satin of her glove felt rough against his hand and Wally noticed that her clothes weren't as elegant as he'd originally thought. A little shabby really, but her own natural beauty had caught his attention first, but now it was apparent to him that she wasn't very well off. He wondered if he was like so many other desperate dames, coming to Club 21 looking for a sugar daddy. He wasn't going to deny that he hoped that wasn't the case with her.

"So, I ain't seen you around here before, Artemis," Wally said, as she retracted her hand. "This your first time in the big city?"

"No, not my first," she replied. Wally noticed her smirk to herself, as if she was sharing a private joke. She didn't elaborate.

"Well, what brings you here?" he asked, growing more curious by the second. He could tell she wasn't a natural born New Yorker by her accent, but couldn't actually place where her accent was from.

"Do you punch the bag with all your customers, or am I just lucky?" she drawled, circling her finger around the rim of her glass.

He laughed aloud. "Hey, small talk is part of my job description, babe."

"I thought you agreed to cut it out with the nicknames," she said in that husky little voice of hers. Wally thought he saw something flash across her eyes, but it was gone within a second.

"I'm just looking for you to level with me, Artemis," he told her. "You walked in here like a bird on a mission. Maybe I can help you."

She looked at him skeptically, but her interest had been piqued. "You feedin' me a line?" she asked him.

"Nope," he said in all honesty. "So long as it don't concern any of my patrons somewhat questionable activities, of which I don't know from nothing, than we're square."

Artemis narrowed her eyes at him before decided that he was trustworthy enough. She slid one hand into her clutch and pulled out two small photos, sliding them across the bar towards him. "All right, have you seen either of these two fellas?"

He plucked the pictures up and studied them carefully in turn. Each was a photo of a young man, both probably a little bit older than Wally. No light bulbs went off in his head at either of their pictures, although he did feel something akin to jealous at the thought of one of them being this dame's beau.

"Can't say I have," he told her. "They got names?"

She looked crestfallen at his response. "The one on the right is Damon Salvatore, and the other is his brother Stefan."

He knew a lot of Salvatores that frequented their juice joint, but he'd never heard of these two. "Names ain't ringing any bells, doll, sorry."

She wilted, her tough shell cracking a bit. "It's all right," she whispered, for once not chastising him for his use of the pet name. He could only just hear her above the jazz music blasting. "I've tried every joint in the city. Who the hell knows, they're probably not even in New York."

Wally looked at her in concern while she downed the rest of her sidecar in one go. The lady was scouring the city for two fellas that might not even be there? How long had she been out here looking? And she was on her own? It wasn't safe for a gal to be walking around the city streets at night by themselves, that Wally knew. It wasn't just the gangsters and other petty criminals you had to watch out for. There were coppers out there these days who were just as corrupt and malicious.

"You got a place to stay?" Wally asked in what he hoped was a nonchalant way. Maybe her clothes weren't an actual representation of how much dough she had. He thought of any number of decent hotels in the area that he hoped she would say.

"I've got a room tonight at the Johnson down the street."

That was not what he wanted to hear. "What?" he sputtered. "You can't stay there!"

She arched a dark eyebrow at him. "And why not?"

"That place's a death sentence for any Jane, let alone you," he tried to explain. "It's a seedy joint."

"I can handle myself," she said in such a confident voice that he believed her. Which is why what he said next was completely unnecessary.

"Stay at my place," he blurted out before he could stop himself.

"What?" she asked, looking at him like he was nuts, and maybe he was for suggesting that some bird he'd just met stay the night at his digs, but as the idea started to sink in, he couldn't shake it.

"Look, sweetheart, I know I wouldn't get a wink of sleep tonight thinking about a pretty little thing like you all alone at the Johnson," Wally said. "My apartment ain't the Ritz, that's for sure, but at least it's safe."

Her grey eyes narrowed at him. The alcohol didn't seem to affect her at all as her pupils weren't dilated nor her cheeks at all flushed. "You trying to get lucky with me tonight or something?" she asked. "You think that if you let me stay at yours, I'll fall into the sack with you?"

Wally's eyes widened almost comically. Did he really look like that type? Sure, he'd been with a few women, mostly back home, but he didn't treat them like most fellas did, like they were objects or prizes to be won. He hadn't asked her to stay over in return for anything, he'd just done it because it was the right thing to do.

"I'm wounded, Miss Artemis," he said, crossing a hand over his heart. "You got me pegged all wrong. I ain't some sort of cake-eater, if that's what you're thinkin'. You seemed to me like a gal down on her luck, and I'm just tryin' to offer you a helping hand."

He could see the indecision in her eyes, but somehow he knew it wasn't because she was wary of him or his intentions. She seemed to be having an internal battle with herself, and he really didn't want to pressure her into making a decision. There were also quite a few more people at the bar that had come up and were impatiently waiting to be tended to.

"Think it over," he told her. "If you're interested, meet me back here at 2 a.m. with your things and we'll hightail it back to my place so you can get a good night's sleep and continue your search tomorrow." He shrugged. "Choice is yours."

He ambled away, pointing at some slick fella in a fedora keen to get his drink on. The night continued rapidly from that point, although he kept on eye on Artemis, refreshing her drink a few times. The dame gave no indication that she even had a slight edge, and he figured maybe she was just used to the drink. He watched from the corner of his eye as a few cake-eaters tried to pick her up, but after a few moments of talking to her, they magically seemed to disappear. He thought he saw her eye Johnny sharply when he cut his hand on a piece of glass, but he must have imagined it. A little past midnight she called him over to pay out her tab, but he waved her money away.

"It's on me tonight, babe," he told her, leaning against the bar.

She looked grateful and tucked her bills away. After a brief moment of considering him, she said, "At least allow me to give you a tip," before leaning over and placing her lips on his cheek.

He was struck by how cold her lips were, even as he was mentally flipping his lid. They were as cold as ice and made his cheek tingle.

"See you at 2 o'clock," she whispered in his ear, before pulling away. She turned and strutted out of the joint and, as with her entrance, almost every male eye in the place followed her.

Wally swallowed harshly. Maybe he hadn't thought this idea out fully. Artemis seemed hot and cold; he didn't know what to expect from her at any given moment. What was he getting himself into?

* * *

His game was off for the rest of his shift as he remembered the cool touch of her kiss on his check and the way her throaty voice had reverberated in his ear. Soon, it was time to close up shop and he hurried through the motions, losing track of Johnny and Rebecca, their cocktail waitress. The two were sweet on each other, so he half expected them to be necking in the John.

What he did not expect, was to find their bodies in the alley out back, with Artemis feasting off of Rebecca's neck, her mouth red with blood and her face so contorted and dark that he wouldn't have recognized her if it weren't for her hair.

The garbage bags he was carrying clanged to the pavement and he instinctively backed up against the now closed door. The sound alerted Artemis to his presence and her head jerked up at an inhuman speed. The corners of her eyes were dark and crinkled and he'd never been so terrified in his life as he took in her now black eyes and pointed teeth, stained with blood.

He opened his mouth to scream but instantly she was in front of him, hand covering his mouth. He struggled to break free from her grip, but she was impossibly strong and held him firm. His eyes took in the sight of Johnny's motionless body on the ground and Rebecca squirming weakly next to him in pain. Wally looked back at Artemis. Her face was screwed up in concentration befre finally smoothing over, the darkness giving way to her natural features.

She gave him a hard look, but she seemed jumpy. "Is there anyone else in the joint besides you?" she asked.

He shook his head no. The owner had left as soon as the doors had closed, as had their door man. They were alone, no one to help him. His mind was reeling with the knowledge that she wasn't human and she had been drinking the blood of his two colleagues. He knew he had a snowball's chance in hell of getting out of this night alive.

She looked down at Johnny and Rebecca almost remorsefully. "His blood was calling to me all night," she murmured, hand still covering his mouth tightly. "You can't deny a craving like that, even if you wanted to." She whipped back around to face him. "Is your apartment close?"

He nodded and she did the same absentmindedly, her eyes staring out into space. "Here's what we're going to do," she said abruptly. Here she faced him dead on and looked straight into his eyes. "I'm going to take my hand away from your mouth. You're not going to scream, you're not going to think about trying to get away. You're going to walk me back to your apartment like everything is just fine."

She was doing something to him, hypnotizing him, and yet he could no nothing more as her spell took a hold of him. She slowly removed his hand and regarded him warily, but even as the urge to yell and back away from her took hold of him, he could do nothing. He could speak though.

"Are you going to kill me?" he choked out, wondering how this night has spiraled so far out of control. He should have never pried his way into her business earlier; maybe then he wouldn't be in this mess.

"I don't know," she replied, combining her off-putting answer with a seemingly soothing caress on his cheek. "You were so swell to me before, though I bet you regret it now that you've seen what kind of monster I am. I can't let you live if you know my secret, though." He gulped, the urge to run stronger than ever, but it was like his feet were glued to the ground. "But maybe there's another way…" she whispered, and he wasn't sure that he was meant to hear it. After a moment she seemed to come back to herself. "We need to make ourselves scarce. We don't want to be here when someone finds these two."

She grabbed the bar towel that was hanging out of his pocket and delicately wiped the blood off of her mouth. He watched, entranced that she could do it so casually, as if she was using a napkin at a dinner party. When she'd gotten all of the blood, she flung the towel away and took his hand. He flinched, and marveled over the fact that he felt a little bad when she noticed, her grey eyes momentarily filling with sadness.

They left the alley, Wally only looking back once at the bodies of his former co workers. Out on the streets of the city, no one gave them a second glance as he led her towards his place, probably just thinking they were two young lovers on their way home. At the corner before his apartment, there was a pair of coppers, and Artemis gripped his hand tightly, giving him a warning glance, but Wally couldn't even have called out to them. Whatever she had done to him had seen to that. She followed him into his building, and waited patiently while he opened the door to his room.

When she didn't walk into the room after him, he turned to look back at her.

"Invite me in," she commanded, looking deep into his eyes again.

"Come in," he said instantly, and she swept inside, slamming the door behind them and locking it up.

He wasn't expecting her sudden movement as she pushed him up against the door, pressing herself to him. This was it. She was going to kill him now that she had access to his apartment. He braced himself for her teeth on his neck, but it never came. Instead, he watched as she took her glove off and sunk her teeth into her own skin before holding out her bloody wrist to him.

"Wha-what are you doing?" he asked, beginning to panic.

"Drink," she ordered, shoving her wrist to his mouth.

"But, why—?"

"Just do it, Wally," Artemis snapped, forcing the bloodied bite over his mouth.

Her blood was cold and thick as it trickled into his mouth. He reluctantly swallowed it, coughing and sputtering as it stuck in his throat. She backed away and sighed deeply, running her hands over her face and muttering to herself. He still didn't know what was going on, but he thought it was a good time to make a case for himself.

"Look, Artemis," he started, once he'd stopped coughing. "I, I promise I won't tell anyone about, about what you are—"

"A vampire," she said quietly, crossing her arms. "And not the kind you're probably used to."

He swallowed, and continued, "Right. You have my word. Scout's honor."

She looked up at him sadly, sidling up to him. "I'm sorry, Wally," she said, sliding her hands up to cup his face, "but I've already made my decision."

He felt a strong jerk and then all there was was blackness.

* * *

When he woke up, it was like he could feel all of the molecules in his body tingling. He was lying on top of his bed with all of his clothes on, with no memory of how he'd gotten there. Across the room, Artemis sat at his kitchen table, legs crossed, watching him. When she saw that he was awake, she walked over to him and sat on the edge of his bed, a mug in her hand. Whatever was in it, it smelled delicious, but he had more pressing matters.

"What happened?" he asked her, propping himself up with his elbows.

"I snapped your neck," she answered casually, handing him the mug. It felt warm against his hand as he curled his fingers around it. "Drink this."

"Wha-, you, you what? You snapped my neck? How-how am I still alive then?" he stuttered, his mind reeling in confusion.

"You had my blood in your system," she told him, as if that explained it all. She gestured to the mug again. "Drink."

"What is it?" he asked, peering inside. The lighting in the room was terrible, so he couldn't see what color the liquid was.

"Human blood."

"What? Hu-human blood? Why would I drink human blood? Isn't that more your territory?" he asked before he could stop himself.

"You need to complete the transition or you'll die," she said, and it was like she was speaking a different language for all that Wally could understand her.

"What transition?" he all but yelled.

"The transition from human to vampire," she told him, and his eyes bugged out in alarm. He opened his mouth to protest but she took control, placing one hand over his on the mug and her other hand at the back of his neck and forcing the mug to his lips. She tipped the mug into his open mouth and forced his mouth shut, compelling him to swallow the warm blood. She let go of him and stood up from the bed, and he leaned over the edge and tried to spit up any blood that he could.

"That won't work," she said, turning away from him and dropping her knees, head in her hands. "It's done. You'll be like me now."

"Why?" he asked hoarsely. "Why would you do this to me?"

She said nothing, only sobbed into her hands, and through his terror and anger he thought of how lonely she'd looked when she'd walked in to Club 21, even with every eye on her. Had she been searching for her friends because she was lonely? Had she given up all hope of finding them and thought that maybe he would make a good substitute? He slumped back against his pillow, staring up at the ceiling, and felt a bit like crying himself. Would his life ever be the same again after this night?

* * *

a/n: let me know what you think! :)


	2. Part Two

**a/n:** Thank you all so much for your reviews! I wasn't sure I would get much interest in this story, but some of you certainly seem interested which I'm happy about! And some of you aren't even TVD fans! And to those people, and everyone really, I say, thank you so much for reading! Without further ado, I give you Part Two. :) Hope you all enjoy it!

**rated:** T  
**pairings:** wally west/artemis crock  
**words:** 3,000+  
**summary:**In 1921, Wally West meets the beautiful but mysterious Artemis Crock, and his life is never the same again.

**Part Two**

The clock above the mantle place was ticking incessantly, and it was the only sound that had filled the apartment in the last three days. With his new enhanced hearing, each tick seemed to dig deeper and deeper into his skull and he couldn't block out the sound it he wanted to. Across the room, although he couldn't see her since he'd been too busy staring up at the ceiling, Artemis sat at his kitchen table. He knew she was there because he could almost feel her piercing grey eyes on him. He hadn't spoken a word to her since she had forced human blood down his throat.

"You have to feed at some point," her husky voice penetrated the tense silence that hung in the room.

He didn't reply. He didn't even move a centimeter to acknowledge that he'd heard her. The dame (if she could even be called that) had been like a broken record the last few days; encouraging him to feed, pestering him with questions about how he was feeling, growling at him to talk to her. It was getting old really. Couldn't she get the hint?

Apparently not, because the next second he suddenly had a very annoyed Artemis straddling his waist, her beautiful but fierce face looming above his. He snarled, feeling something primal well up inside of him, and the urge to attack became too strong to ignore. He pushed at her shoulders and cast her off his body. She landed hard on the kitchen table which immediately collapsed at the force of her body on top of it.

She struggled to stand and he sped over to pin her up against the wall. She didn't attempt to remove herself from his grasp as he would have thought; instead, she looked up at him resignedly, his hands curling harshly around her shoulders.

"Do it, hit me, Wally," she rasped out. "It's nothing less than I deserve."

He glared down into her eyes and thought he saw something dark and twisted reflected in their grey depths. He turned his gaze to the side and that was when he saw it; In the mirror across the room, there was a dark creature holding Artemis' shoulders in a vice grip. Its face was a crisscross of veins, growing darker by the second, and it had eyes as black as the night coupled with vicious fangs.

It took Wally a long moment to recognize the creature in the mirror as himself.

In shock, he looked back down at Artemis and his hands clutching her shoulders. Instantly, he removed them, taking a step back in horror. What was he doing? This wasn't him. When had he ever laid a hand on a dame before, vampire or not?

Frantically, Wally rubbed at his face, practically clawing it in his haste to get it back to normal. He felt a light touch against his cheek but squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't need to see the look in her eyes as she confronted the monster that she'd made. But Artemis didn't pressure him to open his eyes; instead, he felt her gentle fingers combing through his hair as she made comforting shushing noises.

"Relax, Wally," she murmured. "You have to relax or it won't go away."

He swallowed his dry throat and took a deep unnecessary breath. He concentrated on his enhanced sense of smell. There was a faint odor coming from his closet where he knew his dirty laundry sat in a pile. He could also smell that the milk in his fridge was now spoiled, not that he could drink it anymore. There was even the crispy, piney scent of the freshly splintered wood of his kitchen table. His apartment was awash in different odors and aromas.

He opened his eyes and looked towards the mirror again. His face was back to normal, his green eyes seeming brighter than ever compared to their previous darkness. He turned back to Artemis who still had her hands cupping his head. He felt no desire to pull away, but his mind was reeling with questions.

"What am I?" he asked, his voice hoarse from lack of use. He knew, of course, what he was, and yet, there was so much that he didn't know.

"You're a vampire," Artemis replied, sliding her hands down to cradle his face. "You'll never be sick again. You're at the top of the food chain. You're one of the immortal. As long as you don't get staked or walk out into the sunlight, you'll stay just like this: young forever. You're faster than any human on the planet; stronger, too. And you'll never, ever have to be the victim again," she added in a whisper, her eyes looking into his but somehow past him as if she was lost in her memories.

He nodded numbly, mesmerized by her words. All of his life he'd thought of himself as an ordinary joe, sure that his life would bring no surprises and that he would live out his days in a state of perpetual waiting; waiting for something exciting to happen, something that would shake the very foundations of what made him Wally West. Well, you sure got your wish, he thought wryly.

"I'm sorry about before," he told her, gesturing to his broken kitchen table. "I don't know what came over me."

"It's completely normal," she reassured him. "As a new vampire, your emotions are heightened. You were angry at me when I jumped you, and rightly so."

She dropped her hands and cast her gaze down at the floor. Wally hated that he was so weak when it came to her, but it was a crying shame for a dame as beautiful as Artemis to be sad.

He lifted her chin with his index finger and her eyes flew up to his. He had to know one thing. "Why?" he asked. "Why did you turn me?" He thought he knew the answer, but he wanted to hear her say it.

She seemed wary. "I already told you why," she reminded him. "It was either that or kill you."

"You didn't seem to have any qualms about takin' out Johnny and Rebecca," he argued, giving her a challenging eyebrow. He just wanted her to say the words and he would leave her be. Wally felt like she needed to admit them to herself. When did I become a goddamn therapist? he thought idly.

Her grey eyes grew hard, though. "What, you want me to tell you I'm in love with you or something?" she asked him. The blonde laughed harshly, tearing out of his grasp and walking away from him. "In your dreams, pal."

Wally sighed. "Nevermind, babe," he said, shaking his head. "What now? The coppers'll be knockin' down my door any second. They probably think I killed Johnny and Rebecca."

Artemis, with her back still to him, shook her head. "Don't call me babe. And, don't worry, I took care of it. Their bodies are at the bottom of the Hudson and your boss thinks they ran away together to elope."

"How did you do that, babe?" Wally asked, knowing he was being incredibly annoying.

"I used compulsion on him," she said, finally turning around to face him. "Another swell thing about being a vamp is mind control. Like the other night when I made you bring me here. You wanted to fight it, but you couldn't, yeah?"

"Sounds familiar," Wally mumbled, sheepish at the thought of being in her thrall. "Can you, can you teach me how to do that?"

She smiled. It was a tiny smile, but a smile nonetheless, and the effect was dazzling. "Yes, I can," she told him. "All that and more, Wally. The most important thing I will teach you how to do is feed, which we have to do soon. The longer you wait, the more animalistic you'll become."

Wally grimaced. Maybe he just wasn't used to the idea yet, but the thought of feeding on people, killing them, repulsed him. His body, which felt like it was no longer his own, responded to the notion of feeding, however. Something welled up in him again, a different urge this time than the one to attack. It wasn't unlike the hunger pains he'd felt as a human, but it was stronger; a more ferocious need than he'd ever felt before.

Light, unsteady footsteps sounded in the hallway outside his apartment and both his and Artemis' heads turned in tandem to the door. In an instant, Artemis sped to the door, flung it open, and pulled the unsuspecting person inside. Wally didn't recognize the young woman, but it was plain to see what with her bright red lipstick and cheap, tawdry clothing that she was a quiff. As Artemis closed her hand over the girl's mouth, Wally idly remembered that Mr. Jackson down the hall frequently had such "guests" over. He regarded her warily as Artemis forced the girl to make eye contact.

"My friend Wally here is hungry," Artemis told her, her voice low and persuasive. "You're going to let him feed off of you, and you're not going to scream or struggle or anything. In fact, you're not going to make a sound, you got that?"

Wally watched as the girl nodded obediently as if in a trance. Artemis lowered her hand and ushered the girl over to him. Once in front of him, she pulled the prostitute's coiffed hair behind her shoulders, and it was then that Wally's senses bombarded him. He could hear the blood rushing through the girl's veins, could hear her heart pumping blood faster and faster. The scent of her blood assaulted his nostrils, and he didn't need a mirror to know that his face had grown dark again. Somehow, he knew what to do, like it was instinctual; part of him was still there to make one request before he dove in, however.

"Promise you won't let me kill her," he growled, talking to Artemis but looking at the girl. Her blue eyes gazed back at him, but were unfocused and dull.

"Why not?" Artemis asked, and he managed to turn to look at her even through his bloodlust. "She's a chippy, a slut. No one's gonna miss her."

"Just promise me," Wally repeated firmly.

Artemis crossed her arms disgruntledly. "Fine, I promise," she said, sounding bored. "Now, feed."

Gladly, Wally thought. Faster than he would have believed possible, he was on top of the girl, cradling her head in his hands. He angled it away from him, leaving her neck perfectly exposed. His eyes were so sharp that he could see the pulse of her blood go through her neck and that's exactly where he buried his fangs an instant later. Her hot blood filled his mouth and he drank it down greedily, fully giving himself over to his primal side. It was delicious, and he wanted more and more, and he could feel himself becoming satiated, and yet he couldn't stop.

"Wally."

He ignored her, and instead continued to suck even harder, her blood flowing down his throat in a steady flow. The girl was growing weaker and weaker in his arms, barely able to keep standing, but he hardly noticed. Not for nothing though, was Artemis one hell of a bearcat. In an instant, she tore Wally away from the girl, leaving him gasping, putting herself in between him and the girl.

He snarled in anger and she fell into a crouch, ready to fight him if need be. "I normally wouldn't get in the way of a predator and his prey," she quipped, "But you made me promise, and I never go back on a promise."

His rational side was slowly but surely returning. The sight of the chippy collapsing onto his apartment floor might have helped a little. He scrunched his face up in concentration until he was sure it was back to normal. Once Artemis trusted that he could control herself, she dropped her guard and knelt beside the girl. Wally heard her sigh before she bit into her wrist, propping the girl's head up and putting her bleeding wrist to it.

"W-what are you doing?" Wally asked, eyes widening, wiping remnants of the girl's blood off his mouth. "You're making her a vampire, too?"

"Don't get jealous, Wallman," she told him, enunciating this pet name sarcastically. "I'm only feeding her my blood to heal her. She'll only become a vampire if she somehow happens to die within the next 24 hours."

His mouth formed a wide 'O' at this and he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He definitely hadn't been jealous. Not in the slightest. They waited patiently for the girl regain consciousness.

"How do you feel?" she asked after a moment.

He considered this. He felt stronger, more alert. His senses were even sharper than they'd been before. He told all of this to Artemis and she nodded.

"Human blood strengthens us to our full capacity," she explained. "Some vampires, the saps, choose to feed on animal blood, but it's nowhere near as good."

"If the alternative is this, I can see why," Wally said, gesturing to the chippy.

"I still don't understand why you won't just kill her," Artemis muttered, glancing up at him. "She's hardly an innocent."

"It wouldn't be right," Wally reasoned, wondering why she couldn't see this. "Am I supposed to be a cold-hearted SOB now just because my heart doesn't beat anymore?"

Artemis shrugged. "It happens to all of us after we've been turned," she simply said. "We lose sight of our humanity. Humans become nothing more than food."

He didn't believe that about her for one second. She would have killed him without a second thought if that was true. "Well, it ain't gonna happen to me, sweetheart," Wally said confidently, watching as the chippy began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and Wally nudged his chin to Artemis in the girl's direction.

Immediately, Artemis slapped a hand over the girl's mouth, holding her struggling body down. She arched an eyebrow at Wally expectantly. "Would you like to learn how to compel her?" she asked.

"What, now?" he blurted out, becoming unreasonably nervous at the prospect. What if he wasn't good at it and embarrassed himself in front of her.

"No time like the present," she drawled, blinking up at him innocently.

"I guess I can take a crack at it," he said, kneeling down on the hardwood floor next to her.

"Now keep your mind clear," she instructed, moving to allow him to sit right in front of the girl. Her blue eyes were terrified now, and Wally gulped, staring at the blood on her neck guiltily. "Focus," Artemis snapped at him. "Look deep into her eyes. You'll know when you can start compelling her."

It was exactly like feeding; he acted entirely on instinct. As he gazed into her eyes, something in his mind seemed to hook onto hers. She was like a blank piece of paper, ready for him to write all over. "You left your client's house and went straight home," he told her, making his voice low and calm like he'd witnessed Artemis doing. "You never saw us, you won't remember this encounter, okay, dollface?" he asked. She nodded vacantly. "Now, you're going to get up, walk out the door, and forget this ever happened."

He broke his hold over her and watched as, to his astonishment, she rose from the floor, walked to the door, opened it, and left, closing it behind her. He grinned triumphantly at Artemis, who half smiled back at him.

"Not bad," she said, standing up and straightening her clothes.

Wally looked up at her thoughtfully, and stood as well. She caught him staring and raised an eyebrow. "May I help you?"

"Why did you turn me?" he asked again, hoping that she would see the answer herself.

"I already told you-"

"Lay off, sweetheart," he interrupted. "You could have compelled me to forget you just as easily as I did her."

"So? What are you saying?" she asked defensively.

He was in front of her in an instant, enjoying the speed that came with this new life. She didn't move and he cupped her cheek in his hand. "I'm sayin' that I think you've been lonely for a long time, babe, and that's why you turned me," he told her. "You saw somethin' in me, same as I did in you."

She was silent for a long moment, looking up at him with those mysterious grey eyes of hers. He wished he could compel her to tell him the truth, but somehow he knew that was impossible. "If you're trying to turn this into some kinda love story, you're going to be disappointed, Wally," she said quietly. "Vampires don't fall in love, especially not vampires like me."

He studied her carefully, trying to see if she was bluffing, but she seemed completely closed off. He sighed. "If you say so," he said, dropping his hands. "Lookie here, doll, it ain't just you all out there on your own now. I know you've been tryin' to find your friends and I can help. I guess what I'm tryin' to say is, you've got me...If you want me that is," he added as an afterthought. Maybe she'd just made him on a whim, fully expecting to drop him whenever she wanted. He couldn't say the thought didn't make him sad.

A playful gleam came into her eye. She looked amused at his stuttered monologue. "Well, I made you," she mused, "So I guess I'm stuck with you."

"Looks like it," he agreed, giving her a wink. He wouldn't push her anymore tonight. Another time, maybe, as they got to know each other more. "So, what's next? Where do we start looking for your friends, who I'm gonna go out on a limb and say are vampires too."

"Well, we have to give you a little time to adjust, so you'll be staying indoors for a while," Artemis told him. He nodded, although he was anxious to get out there and make use of all his new powers. "We can keep looking here, but I have a feeling the two fellas are in Chicago."

"How'd you catch wind of them being there?" he asked her.

He saw her hesitate. "You hear about all those killings there? How they can't find the killer but their throats are always slashed so viciously?"

He nodded. He'd read in the papers about the man they were calling The Ripper, a ruthless killer who had all of Chicago running scared.

"I think, I think that it's Stefan who's doing it," she said slowly. Wally's eyes widened in shock and Artemis hurried on. "And if I know Damon, he won't be too far away from his little brother, and Damon is the one that we really want."

"And what exactly do we want him for?" he asked, idly remembering his jealousy from the other evening at the thought of one of the brothers being her beau.

"Let's just say that he can help me acquire something that will be mutually beneficial for you and me," she told him, walking passed to start cleaning up the remains of the kitchen table.

"You're one cryptic dame, you know that?" he asked, striding over to help her.

He saw the smirk on her lips. "It's part of my charm," she said, throwing the scraps of wood into his fireplace.

He rolled his eyes at her, mulling over everything that had happened in the last 72 hours. Maybe it still hadn't fully hit him yet, just how much his life was going to change, but he found that he didn't care. He'd come to the Big Apple seeking fame and fortune, but in reality, he'd wanted out of his small town, a break from the monotony. He'd craved adventure, excitement, maybe even a little danger.

And if becoming a vampire wasn't all three, he didn't know what was.

* * *

**a/n:** Please review! :)


	3. Part Three

**a/n:** Hey guys! Sorry this update is so late! I've been having trouble piecing together how I want this story to go, but I'm back on the right track again. Thank you all so much for reviewing! I love reading what you guys think :) I'm not sure how long this story will be, but it's safe to say this will probably have anywhere from 5-8 parts! Also, another reviewer asked if I would be using any of the other YJ characters in this, and I thought, why not? So there's a special cameo here in Part Three. This chapter is a little longer than the first two, so enjoy! Please let me know what you think! :)

**rated:** T  
**pairings:** wally west/artemis crock  
**words:** 4,500+  
**summary:**In 1921, Wally West meets the beautiful but mysterious Artemis Crock, and his life is never the same again.

******Part Three**

_The speed is what he enjoys most about his new condition. The world is but a blur to him as he strides after Artemis and her long, flowing blonde hair. He pushes himself faster until he surpasses her, dodging the trees of Central Park left and right and hopping from shadow to shadow. The moon is bright above them, but is little more than a streak in the sky as he moves. Finally, he comes to a halt by a small isolated lake. He's not even winded, there's no indication at all that he's traversed hundreds of yards in a few split seconds. He laughs, feeling surprisingly giddy for a guy who's just been turned into a vampire a week ago. He stretches out along the shoreline, marveling at all the sights, sounds, and scents around him. _

_"You're fast," Artemis says as she comes up behind him, her feet touching the ground almost soundlessly with every step. "Probably the fastest vamp I've ever met."_

_"And how many _have_ you met, sweets?" he asks, patting the ground next to him._

_She rolls her eyes at the pet name, but gracefully folds herself down next to him. _

_"A fair few," she answers cryptically. _

_He leans back on his hands, studying her in the moonlight. He has to retract his first thoughts upon seeing her because he's sure she's the prettiest dame he's ever laid eyes on. Her olive toned skin and long blonde hair are an exotic combination, and couple with her stormy grey eyes she presents a most enticing package. But it's not just her beauty that captivates him. He has this unshakable urge to know everything little thing about her, to understand what makes her tick. _

_She catches him admiring her, and if vampires could blush he would have sworn that her cheeks would be on fire right now. She rolls her eyes playfully again before ducking her head demurely, a small smile on her face. _

_He casts his gaze across the still waters of the lake, a victorious grin on his face. "What's your favorite part of being a vampire?" he asks her. _

_"The freedom," she responds almost instantly. "No one to tell me what to do or where to go. I'm in charge, I'm the one that does the controlling if need be."_

_"I can see why that would appeal to you," Wally says without thinking. _

_Artemis looks at him sharply. "What do you mean?" she asks, a warning edge to her voice now. _

_Wally shrugs. "I'm just sayin', it sounds a lot like you had a tough time growin' up."_

_She holds his gaze, not moving. "Maybe I did, but that ain't any of your beeswax," she snaps in a rushed sort of way as if she wants to get this conversation over and done with. "I was born, I lived, I was made a vampire, and here I am. Got it?"_

_Wally clears his throat awkwardly. "Sure, dollface," he says easily. "Whatever you say."_

_Artemis looks away, sighing. "I'm...I"m sorry, Wally," she says stiffly. "My past isn't something I like to talk about."_

_"Don't sweat it, babe," he tells her, smoothing back a piece of long golden hair behind her ear. He can't help himself. It's like he's drawn to her in every way imaginable. He doesn't want to pry anymore, but this is a serious question. He has to know what he's got to look forward to. "What do you miss most about being human?" he asks, thinking it could be a number of things: her family, growing up, the possibility of having children, food (something he already misses). _

_But it's none of those things, because no matter how complex she seems, she keeps surprising him. "The sun," she replies without hesitation, looking longingly up at the crescent moon. "I would give anything to feel the sun's rays on my skin again. The moon just doesn't compare."_

_"I think to see you in the sunlight would be a sight indeed, beautiful," he muses aloud. _

_She turns her head to meet his gaze and there's a glimmer of some nameless emotion in her eyes. He knows better than to call it happiness. Instead, he thinks it's more like...hope. _

* * *

Wally's eyes flew open. He wasn't laying on the ground in the middle of Central Park anymore. Instead, he was curled up on a dilapidated couch in a one room apartment in Chicago. He swung his feet onto the floor and ran his fingers through his hair in an effort to tame his messy bed head. Across the room at the kitchen table, Artemis sat avidly reading the morning paper she'd probably stolen from their neighbor.

"Afternoon," she said, not once looking away from the newspaper.

"You sleep at all?" he asked her, pretty sure she'd been in the same position when he'd decided to hit the hay.

"A few hours," she supplied, waving his concerns away. "The older you get, the less sleep you'll need."

He nodded although she couldn't see and stood up, stretching as he went. He smirked when he saw Artemis casting a furtive look at his bare chest out of the corner of her eye. He caught her gaze and gave her a suggestive eye wiggle, which made her immediately turn her attention back to her reading. He chuckled, enjoying their usual game of cat and mouse (although at times, he really wasn't sure which one he was), and slipped on a shirt. He walked over to the only window in their apartment and peeked out, careful not to let the forbidden light hit him or Artemis.

There was a different hum to the city in Chicago than there was in the Big Apple. The hustle and bustle seemed the same, and yet there was something darker, more sinister in the air, and that, Wally mused, was the reason they were there. Find Stefan, and find Damon, Wally repeated to himself. They'd been in Chicago for two months and had so far seen neither hide nor hair of either of the Salvatore brothers.

It was hard to believe that he'd been a vampire for almost three months now. It was nothing like Wally had ever dreamed of. At times, he felt like the same Wally West he'd always been, but then he would get a whiff of human blood and he would transform into a predator, a blood thirsty monster with the speed of a hawk and the strength of a bear. He was dead as sure as his heart sat silent in his chest, and yet he'd never felt more alive in his life. Through some sort of miracle, he had yet to actually kill anyone, purely thanks to Artemis, whom he'd made promise to rein him in. She'd reluctantly acquiesced.

"We're vampires, Wally," she had said, when it became clear that he didn't want to take a life. "We kill humans. It's part of the fun."

But Wally had disagreed and had even tried to curb Artemis' appetite for doing away with innocents, as he saw them. She hadn't appreciated his interference, and her protests were loud and clear, and yet she hadn't decided to hunt without him, which made him think that maybe she wasn't so opposed to it.

They'd developed a sort of rapport these last few months. He called her babe, sweetheart, doll, and a million other pet names he knew she didn't hate as much as she said she did. She, in turn, taught him everything she knew about being a vampire: how to blend in with the humans around them; whose blood to stay away from and whose to covet; how to stave off the cravings for as long as possible; how to spot other vampires (something he hadn't come across yet); and how to hone the special assets that came along with being a vampire. He would be lost without her, and sometimes he thought she felt the same about him.

He heard the rustle of papers and turned his head to see Artemis laying down the paper in a huff. "There hasn't been a single Ripper murder since we got here," she said, frustration evident in the rough edge of her voice. "They're here though," she said with conviction. "I know it."

"Chicago's a big city," Wally reasoned, striding over to sit across from her at the kitchen table. "Especially for two fellas who probably don't wanna be found."

"I know," she moaned, hanging her head. "I just had hoped we would have smoked them out by now."

Something about the way Wally was wired made him incapable of standing by and watching this pretty dame who'd put him through so much be sad. He moved to cover her hand with his, and she immediately peered up at him warily. "Don't beat yourself up about it, babe," he said, giving her a half smile. And idea was rapidly forming in his head. "Hey! What I think you need is a break from all this. A night out on the town. Luckily, I happen to know a guy, red hair, incredibly handsome fella, who could show you a good time."

Her lips twisted into a smile and seeing it, he could help but break out into a full blown grin. He must have looked too happy, or enough to give her cause for concern, because a moment later and she had slid her hand out from under his, tucking it under the table with her other one. Wally sighed heavily, smile fading. He had been trying and trying to get closer to her in the months since he'd been turned but to no avail. She had become adept at keeping him out, keeping him from chipping away at that wall that she had built up to protect herself.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Wally," she whispered, eyes downcast. "We have to find Damon-"

"What is so important about finding Damon?" Wally asked loudly, frustrated over her obsession with finding the Salvatores.

"He has something that I need," Artemis gritted out, his irritation giving rise to hers.

"And that is?" Wally pressed. He'd been left in the dark about this more than he'd cared to be. It was time for her to be straight with him. "It's not really fair to be keeping secrets from me, babe. I'm tryin' to give you a hand here, and I can't do that if you keep shutting me out."

She stood up immediately, the action startling him. "You're absolutely right," she said, starting to collect her things from around the apartment. He slowly rose out of his chair, watching her warily, trying to gauge her next move. "I shouldn't be burdening you with my problems. I'll look for Damon and Stefan on my own."

He was shaking his head even before she finished speaking, and was in front of her within a second. She threw him a sharp look when he stayed her hand, but allowed him to turn her around to face him. "You know that ain't what I meant," he said gently. "I just wish you would trust me enough to tell me why we're really here."

Her fierce expression slowly melted away at his words, those enticing grey eyes of hers looking up at him sadly. "I do trust you, Wally," she murmured. "Lord knows I don't deserve it, but you've really swell to me these last couple months. A great help."

"I could be more," he blurted out, cursing his stupid brain for letting the words leave his mouth. This was an opening he couldn't afford not to take, however. He gathered both of her hands in his and brought them close to his chest. Her eyes were filled with the same loneliness that Wally felt in his own unbeating heart, and in that moment he felt like he would do anything to ease her pain.

Her gaze followed him even as her whole body stilled, and for the first time, he was unnerved by the fact that she didn't need to breathe. Her eyes were uncertain, but she wasn't pushing him away, so he slowly, giving her a chance to back away if she wanted to, dipped his head down and pressed his lips to hers. He was gentle at first, not wanting to scare her off, but his emotions won out before long. He deepened the kiss, pouring his frustration, his desire, and his happiness at being with her into the embrace and was gratified when she started to respond, her lips moving eagerly in time with Wally's and her hands letting go of his to grasp tightly at his shirt. He moved his fingers along her cheeks to cup her face.

"Artemis," he gasped, breaking away from her momentarily to place light kisses across her jaw.

"Wally, please," she pleaded raggedly, and they would have been the sweetest words he'd ever heard if they hadn't been accompanied by her whole body freezing up. She leaned away from him, shaking her head. "It would never work."

"How do you know?" he asked, his voice matching her hushed tones. "How do you know I ain't exactly what you need?"

"I'm damaged goods, Wally," she told him, tearing her hands away from his and turning away from him. Her arms came up to wrap around her torso protectively.

"So am I," Wally argued, placing his hands on her shoulders. She flinched but didn't remove herself from his grasp, instead she leaned back into him, letting him support her.

"Don't you understand?" she said, and there was an edge of desperation in her voice. "I destroy everything I touch!"

Wally shook his head stubbornly. "I don't care."

She turned back towards him, eyes were glistening with unshed tears. He hadn't seen her cry since the night of his turning. "Haven't I already hurt you enough, Wally? How can you even stand to look at me after what I've done to you?"

"Because I forgave you not even a week after you turned me!" Wally exclaimed in his frustration to get through to her.

Silence rang out through the room after his words. Artemis gazed at him with big, confused eyes. "What? Don't futz around with me, Wally. Not now."

"I'm being straight with you, sweetheart," Wally said earnestly, trying to calm down. He needed to in order to explain this to her. "Look, before you walked into Club 21, I was alive, but I wasn't livin'. I was just goin' through the motions. For the first time in my life I feel...special. And I have you to thank for that."

She said nothing in response, but her eyes was fixated on him as though she was seeing him for the first time. He knew it was warped, thanking her, she who had been basically his murderer, but the way he saw it, she could have really killed him easily and she hadn't. That meant something to him. He just had to figure out if it meant something to her.

"Tell me that you feel nothin' for me, that I'm just imaginin' things, and I'll leave you alone, I swear," Wally challenged her, feeling emboldened by her response to his kiss. "You may think that you don't have emotions anymore, that being a vamp excludes you from them, but I know that ain't true. I wouldn't be standin' here if it was."

"You think you know what being a vampire is about so well, but you don't, Wally," she whispered sharply. Her fierce, grey eyes bored into his and he wondered for what felt like the thousandth time what exactly had happened to this girl that had made her so jaded. She abruptly turned away to the heavily curtained windows, and he could feel the tension in the room slowly dissipate. The conversation was clearly over. "The sun's going down. I'm hittin' up Green Mill Cocktail Lounge tonight. Are you comin', or what?"

Wally sighed. All he wanted was for her to let him in but she kept pushing him away. "Well, I ain't gonna let you go alone, that's for sure," he told her. He would drop the conversation for now, but she couldn't hold him at bay forever. Besides, he didn't hear her denying that she had feelings for him, and he counted that as a point in his favor.

"So, what number is this?" he asked her, trying to regain his usual upbeat manner.

"29," she answered coolly.

Wally sighed again. "Lucky number 29."

* * *

"Lucky number 30?" Wally asked when it became apparent that neither of the Salvatore brothers were at the Green Mill.

Artemis, hanging on to his arm and looking dazzling in a bright green frock Wally had splurged on with some of his leftover bartending money, cast her eyes over the joint in disappointment. "I had such a good feeling about this place," she said, sounded defeated.

"Chin up, babe," Wally prodded trying to sound positive. "Maybe somebody here knows somethin'. It wouldn't hurt to ask around."

Artemis nodded, steeling her shoulders. "You're right," she agreed. "Time to go sweet talk some fellas." She turned to Wally, fussing with her perfectly pinned, blonde curls. "How do I look?"

Wally surveyed her with pleasure from head to toe. "Like you're dressed to kill, babe."

They shared a secret smirk at his statement. Wally went to break away from her to see what information he could scrounge up, but she caught his hand in her gloved one. He glanced back at her questioningly.

"I just wanted to thank you," she said timidly. Her face betrayed a vulnerability that he'd rarely seen on her and it erased years from her face. He known she'd had to have been young when she was turned, but he wondered now if she'd even celebrated her 20th birthday. "For the dress and for everything."

His humble response died in his throat when she cupped his face in one hand and stretched up to kiss him on the cheek. She pulled back before he could do anything and was gone in a flash of mysterious grey eyes and sparkly green dress.

The grin that split his face had him looking like a sap, but Wally couldn't help himself. He was stuck on this dame, and he had a feeling there was no turning back now. He cheek was burning with her touch, but he tried to focus on the matter at hand. Straightening his fedora, he eyed the bar, looking for someone to chat up. He spied the perfect candidate in a young bird with short red hair, tapping her feet energetically along to the music. She was dolled up and kept casting hopeful looks over to a group of fellas smoking by the dance floor. Well, if she's looking for a fella, it's her lucky night, Wally thought as he swaggered over.

The girl, a chatty cathy by the name of Megan, happened to be a regular at the Green Mill and didn't know a lick about any Salvatores that might have frequented the joint. He'd gotten the information, or lack of, that he'd sort her out for, but he was a polite sort of guy, so he invited her to dance, well aware of the two grey eyes that were following him across the room. They were halfway through a jazzy tune when Artemis suddenly appeared besides them, halting their lively quick step.

She looked Megan dead in the eye. "Scram, missy," she said, grabbing Wally's arm. "This fella's mine."

Megan's eyes grew wide and she backed away from both of them, fleeing the dance floor before Wally could apologize. "You could've at least compelled her," Wally chided, giving her an amused look.

Artemis smirked and shrugged unrepentantly. "Where's the fun in that?" she asked. "Now, are you going to ask me to dance or what, Wallman?"

He nearly gaped at her life a goof before regaining control of his facilities. He brandished his fedora and bowed to her. "Will you do me the honor, Miss Artemis?" he asked, a playful gleam in his eyes.

"Only if you can keep up," Artemis challenged, taking his fedora and flipping it onto her head. "I'm a bit of a floorflusher."

"If you like to dance, sweet cheeks, you've come to the right fella," Wally informed her, pulling her close and marveling at the feeling of her in his arms. "Ain't no one can cut a rug like Wally West."

"We'll see about that," Artemis said slyly, running a finger along his jaw and sending shivers down his spine. He didn't know what had gotten into her, but he liked it.

The band transitioned into a faster, catchy number and then they were off, Wally's hand high across her back, Artemis' encircled around his neck, and their two other hands clasped together. Cheek to cheek, they glided across the floor, moving in time with the spirited music.

"You sure seem like you're in a good mood, babe," Wally commented, spinning her away from him.

Her grey eyes sparkled, and he was sure he'd never seen her look so excited. "You were right about lucky number 29," she told him, shimmying along to the beat. "I know where Stefan's been keepin' court."

"Attagirl!" Wally exclaimed, pulling her back to him.

"Yeah, apparently he's been holing up at-" she started to say.

"Hold that thought," Wally told her, before flipping her over his shoulder using only one hand.

It was a move that he'd never been strong enough to attempt before he'd been made a vampire, but one he executed with ease now. He swung her back into his arms and she kept up with every move, their bodies mirroring each other's actions. She let out a genuine laugh of pleasure when he twirled her around one last time and clung to him tightly as the song winded down. He grinned down at her, enjoying the sight of her bright smile. The band let out it's final note but they didn't let go of one another. Instead, their grins faded and their eyes locked intensely, neither of them wanting to blink lest the connection be broken.

He wasn't sure who leaned in first, but suddenly they were necking out in the middle of the dance floor. Artemis cupped the back of his head and slanted her lips over his urgently while he laid his hands on her waist, pulling her tight against him so that there was barely any room between their bodies. He reveled in the feeling of her mouth moving against his and stifled a groan upon feeling her nibbling on his bottom lip. Ever since he'd been turned, he'd craved only one thing: blood; but now, he found that he craved her even more. After all, he may not have been human, but he was still a man.

He forced himself to draw away from her a hair. "What's say you and I get outta here, sweetheart?" he asked, his gaze lingering on her dark pink lips before meeting her heated stare.

There was no hesitation in her response. "Let's."

* * *

The cab ride home did little to cool the spark between them. As soon as they made it back into their apartment, Artemis had Wally up against the door, pulling off his suit jacket and kissing up and down his neck feverishly. He followed her lead and pushed his suspenders off his shoulders, taking off his fedora and flinging it somewhere in the room. He pressed her face into his neck, sucking in an unnecessary breath when she nipped at the skin there.

An uncontrollable urge ripped through him, and he turned the tables on her, quickly pinning her to the door and tipping her face up to his to devour her lips. One moment they were upright, and then suddenly they were on the couch, Artemis straddling his lap. In the span of a split second, they went from the couch, to the kitchen table, to the wall next to the window, all without breaking their liplock. Artemis' legs were wrapped around his waist, her short dress riding up to the tops of her thighs. Wally pulled away to look at her, and her eyes fluttered open to meet his. Keeping eye contact, she reached up with both hands to remove the pins from her hair, and Wally watched as her long, blonde tresses fell around her in waves.

"Beautiful," Wally told her in a hushed, reverent tone. Artemis bit her lip and looked down shyly. He twirled a lock of her hair around his finger, feeling his whole body crying out to join with hers. She leaned her forehead against his and his eyes drifted shut. "Tell me you want this as much as I do," he pleaded

Her heard her quick intake of breath and quickly opened his eyes. She was silent, her gaze searching his. Whatever she was looking for, she must have found because she nodded against him, slowly at first and then more confidently. He beamed down at her, feeling like the luckiest stiff in the world, and she gave him a small smile in return. Leaning down, he captured her lips in a smooth and sensual kiss while slowly walking them both over from the wall to the bed.

What followed was a flurry of shed clothing, heated caresses, and euphoric releases. As the sun rose, they finally succumbed to the exhaustion that even their vampire stamina could not help.

Wally pressed a sweet kiss into Artemis' bare shoulder. "If this ain't love, I don't know what is," he whispered in her ear, not even registering her body stiffening as he drifted off into a sated, uninterrupted sleep.

When he awoke to an empty bed and apartment the next day, all of Artemis' belongings gone, he wondered why he wasn't more surprised.

* * *

**a/n:** Soooo, we've got lots going on here...I'm thinking about doing an M+ rated outtake for this chapter. Let me know if you guys would like that. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think! :)


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